have passed through those doors and been given care, including 18,000 troops who served in iraq and afghanistan. the hospital has 5,000 rooms and treats a staggering 3/4 million veterans and their families as shall -- on an out-patient bas basis. >> reporter: it was an emotional ceremony. the end of an era for walter reed army hospital founded in 1909 on this campus in washington, d.c. now, the medical operations will continue and all the fine work they do for our wounded a years will continue at a different location. this site has a long history. let's take a look at some movie tone pictures from 1956. dwight david iese eisenhower was here. he came back and died here in 1969. other pictures taken in 1909 when the first building was opened. and the first patients were here from world war i. one of the people who lost his legs a few years ago, his army paratrooper, here is what he told us today about walter reed. >> my first steps were here in walter reid medical center where i worked a occupational therapists, doctors and rns. it has changed so much in the last 17 years. >> reporter: the people